The drama surrounding the transition of power in Thailand’s upper House has raised doubts over whether outgoing junta-appointed senators will step down quietly.
The Senate selection result was placed in jeopardy on Tuesday (July 9) when outgoing members set up a special committee to investigate allegations of electoral fraud and manipulation. The panel was formed as the Election Commission (EC) was poised to endorse the results.
The senators-elect and supporters quickly cried foul, claiming the panel exceeded the powers granted to caretaker senators.
Nantana Nantavaropas, a senator-elect representing the media profession, said outgoing senators should not perform any major role while the country waits for a new Senate.
“It’s not against the law to perform your duty, but it is improper to do anything that has long-term implications. Your term ended on May 10, but you continue to do things you are not supposed to do,” she said, adding that the outgoing senators should have instead petitioned the EC to investigate allegations of voting fraud.
Nantana, the dean of Krirk University’s Political Communication College, said certain outgoing senators were obviously displeased with the Senate election and wanted it to fail.
An unfinished mission
Outgoing senators have defended the move to set up the controversial panel. Somchai Swangkarn insisted that he and his caretaker colleagues were duty-bound to do their jobs until their last day in office and ensure a “clean handover” of power.
Chair of the special committee Surachai Liangboonlertchai admitted that its mission would be over as soon as the EC certified the new senators.
“We will try to finish our job as soon as possible … and we also want to see the EC endorse the new senators as soon as they can,” he said.
Asked why the outgoing senators did not leave the job of probing the “problematic” Senate race to their successors, Surachai pointed out that, “the new senators are unlikely to investigate themselves”.
On Monday, caretaker speaker Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said the Senate would perform its duties until the EC officially endorsed the newly elected senators.
This was a constitutional requirement to ensure parliamentary continuity, he added.
Outgoing senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha threw fuel on the fire, however, warning of a potential military coup if new senators failed to “perform their duties honestly”.
“We welcome new senators who will work straightforwardly. But for those who fail to do so, what I can say is that we may see a new national legislative assembly,” he said, referring to the non-elected legislature often appointed after a coup.
Senator-elect Nantana was among critics who interpreted Kittisak’s remark as a threat against the new senators.
Endorsement finally comes
The election agency appeared to put the latest drama to rest when it finally endorsed the 200 newly elected senators on Wednesday (July 10).
Despite fielding around 800 complaints, election commissioners voted to certify the results because “at this point, we cannot say that the voting was not free and fair,” EC secretary-general Sawang Boonmee told a press conference on Wednesday.
More than 48,000 people applied to contest for the 200 senatorial seats up for grabs. Six rounds of voting were held in June at the district, provincial, and national levels, where eligible candidates voted among themselves to produce the winners.
The 200 winning candidates, representing 20 occupational groups, received between 16 and 79 votes each in the national-level election.
However, the voting was dogged by allegations of collusion to fix results and questions about many candidates’ qualifications.
Critics claimed the voting process lacked transparency, leaving it open to vote-buying and other abuses.
Sawang said the EC worked with the Royal Thai Police, the Department of Special Investigation, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office to investigate the complaints.
Regarding candidates’ eligibility and qualifications, he said 1,917 applicants were weeded out before the voting began and another 618 were barred from participating after they were found to lack qualifications.
Official endorsement has not freed new senators from the risk of disqualification, however. The Organic Act on the Acquisition of Senators empowers the EC to seek a Constitutional Court order to disqualify any certified senator later found to lack the required qualifications.
The EC also has the authority to request Supreme Court action against any senator found to have contested the election despite knowing they were not eligible.
Those found guilty will be stripped of their electoral rights.
By Thai PBS World’s Political Desk
